Watchdog and Wifi on trains

[pethadine82]

Watchdog did a piece the other day on Wifi on Virgin, East Coast, and cross country.

I was surprised that the results were so poor. I have never had the need to use wifi as I have unlimited data but found that on the ECML bar the tunnels and the odd patches I get a 3g connection which on 02 is pretty quick.
What I cant believe is that they have 4 sim cards and it roams between all of them to find the strongest signal and share it with however many people are connected. This is slower than dialup.

Wi Max hasn't taken off here as it has in the states, but even with 4G sharing between that many users is going to be slow.

The best solution would be to have repeaters or improve the signal in areas that have no 3G coverage esp in tunnelled areas and let peeps use their own data.
Could it be possible to add a signal on the overhead lines that separates it from the voltage?

 

[tsr]

I must admit that I was pretty impressed with the continuity of Greater Anglia's wifi when I had cause to use it on a couple of recent London-Norwich journeys, as well as the clear availability of a number to call for help printed on the train doors. The connection was pretty speedy despite the train having a fair few passengers using iPads/laptops etc., and the fact that it was passing through areas of Suffolk/Norfolk where I know from extensive experience that most mobile networks struggle to maintain any sort of connections to my phone.

I'm not saying the above experience is always the case, but I'd be interested to know what sort of setup GA have, and whether or not it is similar to other operators' systems. Out of those mentioned, I can't really remember much about my experiences with them (most of my longer-distance rail travel is with other TOCs), but I seem to remember Virgin's wifi dropped its connection to my devices a fair bit, and that XC was a bit better. I expect this may have been to do with the train rapidly moving through areas with poor reception on all networks.

 

[najaB]

This is slower than dialup...

The best solution would be...

...for people who really need to be online at faster than dialup speeds to use their phone's 3G connection. It's nice to be able to use the Internet on a train, but I also bring a book or two on my KindleTM.

 

[Be3G]

I must admit that I was pretty impressed with the continuity of Greater Anglia's wifi when I had cause to use it on a couple of recent London-Norwich journeys

I'd echo this. Most of the trains I catch don't have WiFi available, and the experiences I read of people who do use it aren't that positive, so I too was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the free WiFi connection provided on a Weekend First journey to Norwich a couple of years ago – that and the complimentary drinks easily made the upgrade worthwhile, in my opinion.

 

[JohnB57]

What I cant believe is that they have 4 sim cards and it roams between all of them to find the strongest signal and share it with however many people are connected.

I'm pretty sure that only applied to Cross Country, which had the fastest connection speed possibly as a result of that. The other TOCs had single network provision.

 

[Chouette]

Watchdog did a piece the other day on Wifi on Virgin, East Coast, and cross country.

I was surprised that the results were so poor. I have never had the need to use wifi as I have unlimited data but found that on the ECML bar the tunnels and the odd patches I get a 3g connection which on 02 is pretty quick.
What I cant believe is that they have 4 sim cards and it roams between all of them to find the strongest signal and share it with however many people are connected. This is slower than dialup.

I had a chance to read the T&Cs for CrossCountry WiFi on my journey home last week. I was appalled to see that 40Mb (note bits, not bytes) an hour was all you were allowed to use.

At £2 an hour, that's roughly 1 pence for every two bytes.

 

[JohnB57]

I had a chance to read the T&Cs for CrossCountry WiFi on my journey home last week. I was appalled to see that 40Mb (note bits, not bytes) an hour was all you were allowed to use.

At £2 an hour, that's roughly 1 pence for every two bytes.

Unless my maths is worse than I thought, no.

40Mb = 5MB

5,000,000 bytes divided by 200 pence = 25,000 bytes per penny

 

[Taunton]

I remember some years ago when the WiFi first came to the East Coast, and they made much in both general and technical press of how they had done it, repeaters in tunnels and deep cuttings, etc, and a range of other clever stuff, and it all worked well.

Since then it has all gone notably downhill and is now pretty unusable for longer connections. I wonder what the issue is.

 

[Minilad]

I had a chance to read the T&Cs for CrossCountry WiFi on my journey home last week. I was appalled to see that 40Mb (note bits, not bytes) an hour was all you were allowed to use.

At £2 an hour, that's roughly 1 pence for every two bytes.

Just sit in first. It's free then

 

[Hellfire]

A number of people have been complaining to Virgin via Twitter about the poor wi-fi. The responses from VT have been that they are aware of the problem and are about to upgrade the system. I don't know what this means.

 

[Kite159]

If you want good-ish quality free WiFi, move to Scotland. 170s & 380s having WiFi fitted for free use. Gives you how many others are sharing the connection as well

 

[Minilad]

I have always found Chiltern Trains free wi-fi to be useable

 

[Chouette]

Unless my maths is worse than I thought, no.

40Mb = 5MB

5,000,000 bytes divided by 200 pence = 25,000 bytes per penny

Sorry - my mistake. Never trust a maths student's arithmetic

 

[Firesprite]

Sorry - my mistake. Never trust a maths student's arithmetic

Or a banker's either.

 

[Chouette]

Or a banker's either.

No need to swear!

 

[Starmill]

If you want good-ish quality free WiFi, move to Scotland. 170s & 380s having WiFi fitted for free use. Gives you how many others are sharing the connection as well

This. Pass of Drumochter, no mobile signal of any kind, but the free wifi on the Class 170 with 19 other users offered Facebook / this forum very well!

 

[starrymarkb]

Hotels can be just as bad. The one I was in last weekend gave speeds of about 56k - with pings around 2-3 seconds - faster was available at €7 per day!

 

[infobleep]

A number of people have been complaining to Virgin via Twitter about the poor wi-fi. The responses from VT have been that they are aware of the problem and are about to upgrade the system. I don't know what this means.

Virgin have a big thing about how they provide you with better mobile phone connections. Well through Shap and arras around there it was non existent. I did wonder what the advertising agency might say about their claim.

I wonder how South West Trains are going to implement their free WiFi. Some years ago Southern had a deal with T-mobile but it was quietly dropped. Not sure why. Perhaps they felt their customers didn't need it or use it enough vers the costs.

I know the government said they wanted companies to tender for providing high speed data along railway lines into the major cities.

The mobile data quality isn't great between Guildford and London on O2. And all it takes is just one black spot, just one single black spot to lose your connection. I always thought that last sentence would be good on a spoof mobile phone ad.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[Andrewlong]

I've always found XC pretty good though I use my own Skype minutes rather than their offering.

Chiltern i found to be good as well and it's free unlike XC.

As to using 3G on trains it depends on the line you are using. I've tried to use a 3G dongle on the Reading to Waterloo line and I found so many black spots that it was unusable. Strange when you would think coverage in the leafy Home Counties would be much better.

Wifi on SWT would on my wish list along with longer trains, tables, more room, power points etc. Those trains are awful for regular commuting when packed.

 

[hacman]

I had a chance to read the T&Cs for CrossCountry WiFi on my journey home last week. I was appalled to see that 40Mb (note bits, not bytes) an hour was all you were allowed to use.

At £2 an hour, that's roughly 1 pence for every two bytes.

It's actually MB, not Mb on XC.

Jon

 

[johntea]

I was impressed by the free WiFi on Grand Central the other day which seems to be the same setup as East Coast anyway!

It didn't seem to cut out nearly as often as East Coast, and free obviously helped!

 

[infobleep]

I used the free WiFi on East Coast once when in first class. It worked ok as far as I remember. I did however have to ring up the help line due to problems but they sorted it out quickly so no complaints there either.

I wouldn't pay for it though.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[Carlisle]

I remember some years ago when the WiFi first came to the East Coast, and they made much in both general and technical press of how they had done it, repeaters in tunnels and deep cuttings, etc, and a range of other clever stuff, and it all worked well.

Since then it has all gone notably downhill and is now pretty unusable for longer connections. I wonder what the issue is.

Maybe it's because in around 2003 when GNER launched their wifi it was only folk with laptops and netbooks that were using it , all the wifi compatible phones and tablets have only appeared in about the last 5 years or so

 

[Squaddie]

Hotels can be just as bad. The one I was in last weekend gave speeds of about 56k - with pings around 2-3 seconds - faster was available at €7 per day!

The UK seems to be one of very few countries where hotels still charge for WiFi: in the rest of Europe, including some relatively undeveloped countries, free WiFi is standard (and is generally very good quality).

 

[Class 170101]

If you want good-ish quality free WiFi, move to Scotland. 170s & 380s having WiFi fitted for free use. Gives you how many others are sharing the connection as well

Used recently in Northern Scotland on a 170 and very good offering just wished I had a 170 when heading back south.

 

[bolli]

The UK seems to be one of very few countries where hotels still charge for WiFi: in the rest of Europe, including some relatively undeveloped countries, free WiFi is standard (and is generally very good quality).

I don't know about that.

I've never been in a french hotel that gives free wifi - not even the 5* ones.

 

[Chouette]

It's actually MB, not Mb on XC.

Jon

I got that figure directly from their terms and conditions at www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/custom...y-wifi/crosscountry-wifi-terms-and-conditions - right at the bottom of the page

So that we can offer all users of our WiFi system a reliable, smooth service, we have in place a Fair Usage Policy. We reserve the right to restrict a user's connection speed, or terminate their session, if the level of use is deemed by us as excessive and therefore to detrimental to other users. While the vast majority of users will use far less, we determine that any usage of the service above 40Mb per hour is classed as excessive and subject to restriction or termination of session.

 

[Andrewlong]

I got that figure directly from their terms and conditions at www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/custom...y-wifi/crosscountry-wifi-terms-and-conditions - right at the bottom of the page

XC don't like you streaming stuff eg spotify or iplayer OR downloading stuff. Both of which will compromise performance for others.

 

[Squaddie]

I've never been in a french hotel that gives free wifi - not even the 5* ones.

I've only stayed in one hotel in France in the past 12 months - the Ibis in Blois - and that definitely had free WiFi. In my own personal experience, free WiFi is standard across the whole of Europe from Scandinavia to Portugal to the Balkans.

 

[Philip Elliott]

Unless my maths is worse than I thought, no.

40Mb = 5MB

5,000,000 bytes divided by 200 pence = 25,000 bytes per penny

Nearly. 1 megabyte = 1,048,576 bytes.